Mike Penning met with Barratt Homes North Thames at Swallow Fields on Three Cherry Trees Lane, to find out more about the success of the homebuilder’s apprenticeship scheme. The event was arranged to mark National Apprenticeship Week which runs from March 14^th-18^th.

Jacob Jenkinson is currently working at Swallow Fields as an apprentice carpenter. He spent time talking to Mr Penning about how he is benefiting from his apprenticeship and the role he is playing in the building of the 357 homes at the development. As well as developing his skills on site Jacob also spends one day a week in college.

During his visit Mr Penning was given a demonstration of the type of work Jacob undertakes and he also talked to Barratt Homes North Thames’ Managing Director Ian Sadler about the homebuilder’s apprenticeship scheme.

Ian Sadler, Managing Director at Barratt Homes North Thames, said: “I was delighted to welcome Mr Penning to Swallow Fields to introduce him to Jacob so he could hear first-hand how individuals benefit from being an apprentice. Our apprenticeship scheme is vitally important to us at Barratt Homes as we are training the housebuilders of the future. They provide people with the chance to learn and develop a trade which gives them the opportunity to build a successful and long career in the industry.”

Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, said: “It was great to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week and meet young carpentry apprentice Jacob who is working on the new development at Swallow Fields. Barratt Homes has a very successful apprenticeship scheme which is providing so many new and long-term opportunities for young people. It was also good to see first-hand how this development is taking shape, providing much needed new homes in Dacorum.”

Barratt Homes North Thames is currently looking to recruit two new trade apprentices. Over the past three years Barratt Developments, the parent company of Barratt Homes, has recruited 780 graduates, undergraduates, apprentices and trainees – more than any other major housebuilder in Britain and plans to recruit a further 185 through ‘Future Talent’ programmes in 2016.

For further information about the apprenticeships available and to apply, please visit www.barrattfuturetalent.co.uk .

For further details about Swallow Fields please call the sales information line on 0844 8117171. The line is open Monday to Friday 8am-9pm and Saturday to Sunday 8am-8pm. Alternatively, please visit www.barratthomes.co.uk for more information.

Barratt Homes has been awarded the maximum five star official rating from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) for the sixth year in a row. The company was awarded the rating after gaining fantastic feedback in the HBF customer satisfaction survey which involved more than 20,000 new homebuyers across the country answering questions about moving into their new homes.